nostalgia

1981 was a low point for the U.S. economy. The recession was a rough chaser for stagflation but proved to be a perfect aperitif to numb the public for the launch of the Reganomics era. Needless to say as a 10 year old I knew nothing about supply side economics nor could I quite grasp why government money to public programs was a bad idea but allocating a couple trillion tax dollars to the policy of mutual assured destruction was essential.

Everybody does it. Autumn hits, the leaves die off and turn pretty colors and little ghosts and goblins come knocking at your door to beg for sweet stuff. It's Halloween, that time of year that requires, dare I say demands, thrills and chills.

I have a theory that nostalgia is one of the most destructive and unproductive emotions people are capable of and can directly be blamed for many of the evils in this world, including 90% of VH1’s programming, the inexplicable popularity of any number of past-fetishizing politicians/pundits and Oliver Stone’s career. I’m far from innocent, myself - a disproportionate amount of the music on my ipod was recorded between 1992 and 1997 and I’ve spent plenty of beer-soaked nights trying to remember the lyrics to the theme song to “Mr. Belvedere” or who the fifth member of New Edition was.

As my life begins its inevitable journey through the rugged terrain of middle age, I've discovered that my genre-related cravings are leaning heavily towards the silly, the outlandish, and the unapologetically over-the-top. In general, horror movies aren't very frightening to me anymore, forcing yours truly to turn his attention towards films that are saturated in gore, shock, and, more importantly, outlandish physical comedy. If someone gets struck repeatedly about the head and neck while entrails and assorted body parts explode across the screen, then I'm usually a pretty happy camper.

Of all the things that have come out of Comic-Con by far “Tron Legacy” is what I’m most excited about. Yes it’s still two years away and yes it will probably end up being awful but the trailer which was released this past weekend looks so freakin awesome I almost threw up on my keyboard.

Gamers of the 90's will recognize Duke Nukem as the gun wielding, strip club frequenting antihero featured in over a dozen games since 1991. I personally spent a lot of time with "Duke Nukem: Time To Kill" in middle school, but most gamers were more attached to the original PC versions.

I admit it, I'm a lifelong "Star Trek" hater. Over the years I've tried to get into "Star Trek" a few times but I don't think I've ever made it all the way through an episode. Not that I minded that much - every geek needs another group of geeks they can look at and feel cool in comparison.